Archive for the ‘Residential’ Category

Facing the majesty of an old native tree, as a pre-existence on the land to be built, this was the perfect excuse to generate the design of the house. In the middle of the lot and with the natural traces of the passage of time, this natural element was the great actor in the middle of a difficult but important decision, to rescue it and recover its splendor. Decision that led to the architectural design to revolve around it, taking advantage of its virtue as a generator of shadow, helping the home to provide self-regulation and climatic comfort on warm days. The shade, an important aspect for a recreational house in warm weather, was generated by eaves in front, looking for the perfect orientation to minimize the direct impacts of the sun. However, the shadows generated by the same architectural design through its eaves were sufficient for the control of the private areas, reason why and thinking in the best implantation for the house it was decided to isolate the architectural volume towards one of the boundaries, Respecting in a natural way the land adjacent to the tree keeping its roots intact. This decision allowed to generate a center of activity where the main actor becomes the tree and the shadow that it projects, allowing to design a large perimeter terrace, outdoor spaces and recreation that take life under the old native tree.

The House in Forte dei Marmi, a work of architectural office FABBRICANOVE, releases a landscape that in the past was place where explosive materials were produced, then military ones, then it was reclaimed as an agricultural land, then it was marked by the concrete of the highway.

Located between the coast and the Apuane Alps, the villa amazes with its distinct and clear features, through which the respect to the particular allocation can be recognized, where the touristic vocation contributed to the development of the place. In the chaos and in the planning approximation of big part of the contemporary Italian construction, the formula to highlight one virtuous example is simplicity.

Paul de Ruiter Architects designed Villa Schoorl, situated in the characteristic polders near the North Holland dunes. The fluent transition to the green polder landscape was the most essential starting point of the design. The subtly located villa is built with as many possible natural materials and sustainable techniques.

Project of residence, atelier and gallery of the renomed plastic artist caciporé torres in the city of São paulo, Brazil.

With approximately 500 m2, composed by five bedrooms – suites on the ground floor and upper floor, two areas of leisure, one with swimming pool, gourmet area and other on the top floor with direct access to rooms and equipped with a spa.

A small courtyard, a back entrance on the kitchen side, a hut, a dead tree, garden boots, smells, be in touch with nature, birdsong, animals, a vegetable garden, a shed for tools, a pergola, ivy along the walls, piles of wood, a tree under which to shelter, a forest, an under-growth, a river, an attic, a chicken coop, a bench, a pond, a well, a fountain, a path…

Living outside, space, air, light. How to live the countryside? How do you live in a forest? What are the ambiances? What are the specific characteristics of a habitat in the countryside?

This 11,000 square-feet house is located on Taipa Island in the Southern side of Macau. The owners live with one elderly and three children. Understanding the needs of the owners, the designer transformed the space into a more practical and suitable home for the family to settle in.

‘I highly doubt, that this apartment can be turned into a decent home’ – said a close relative of the owner, seconds after we first saw this place. I hardly agreed. I loved it. Luckily, the owner – a great innovator, a friend and a fellow dino enthusiast – and I were on the same page about the outcome. This was one of the most complicated structures, I have ever seen, covered by numerous layers of human history and unwanted building materials. We had to take the long road and uncover this beauty and turn it to a contemporary home.

This project began when a couple decided to sell their primary residence in the city to purchase a cottage on the northern point of Archambault Lake in Saint-Donat. It was located on a picturesque, south-facing site with a hundred metres of private beach. They planned to retire in this magnificent place. They decided to call on the interior design firm FX Studio par Clairoux to transform the rustic cottage into a peaceful retreat for the whole family. Their dream renovation project was about to come true.

2013, architects of smartvoll came out as winners at the internationally advertised contest for the loft in the Panzerhalle. Their design captivates through specific, spatial dramaturgy. On 350 square meters and two storeys, the classic idea of a “loft” is noticeable, yet is being reinterpreted in many regards. “I never play with the façade, I do not live there“, said Adolf Loos. As Loos has concerned himself with definitions of space, smartvoll does the same, more than 100 years later. A special focus lies on the exhaustion of materials and of what is technologically possible. Architecture unfolds on the inside. The room- and material-concept develops the encountered and retains the established. Smoothed and waxed concrete is one of the decisive materials for shaping the interior.

When it comes to housing, one of the main problems people are facing in most urban areas today – often places of constant growth and raising housing demands – is a need to choose an apartment typology over single-family houses not because of their desire, but out of necessity. Their main concerns can be summed up as following: